Improvement in machinery for forming heel-stiffeners for boots and shoes



2 SheeLsSheet 1.

J. R. MOPFITT'. Machinery for Forming Heel-Stiffeners for Boots andShoes.

l Patented Nov. 12, I878.-

' J. R. MOFFI'TT.

Machinery for Forming Heel-Stiffeners for Boots-and Shoes.

No. 2o9,s26. Patented Nov. 12,1878.-

g the main features of my invention.

NrrE PATENT JOHN R. MOFFITT, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINERY FOR FORMING HEEL-STIFFENERS FOR BOOTS ANDSHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 209,826, dated November1'2, 1878; application filed April 19, 1878.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN R. MOFFITT, ofBoston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain Improvements in the Manufacture of Counters or HeelStift'eners for Boots and Shoes, of which the following is a full, clearconcise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyin gdrawings, making a part hereof.

My present invention relates to the improvement of the apparatusdescribed in my Patent No. 127,090, dated May 21, 1872; and consists,first, in a new counter-former, the same in substance as that describedin my former patent, except that I have adapted it to flute that part ofthe blank which is to form the flange of the finished counter; and,secondly, in the combination, with the counterforn1er, (whether adaptedto flute the flange part of the blank or not,) of a presser and a pairof auxiliary supports, the presser pressing the blank close against, andcompelling it to conform lineally to, the counter-former, and thesupports or guides insuring the better curving of the counter-blank inlines across the axis of the counter-former, the supports and presserthus acting together to compel the blank to assume both the'lengthwiseand crosswise curves ofthe counter-former, and yet acting upon only asmall portion of the counter-blank at a time, instead of acting uponabout half, more or less, of the entire counter-blank, as in my PatentNo. 127,090, the distinguishing characteristic of this part of myinvention consisting in the arrangement of the presser and the supports,so that their working-surfaces shall be brought near to each other. Theother features of my invention consist in certain combinations of myimproved counter-former with other elements.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan, Fig. 2 a vertical section on line XX, Fig. 1, Fig. 3 a vertical section on line y y, Fig. l, and Fig. 4 aside elevation, of a machine embodying Fig. 7 is a perspective View ofthe article manufactured. Fig. Sis a blank before forming. The otherfigures show details in the construction of my machine.

My new form er is marked A. It is mounted upon a shaft, a, in order thatit may be revolved, and is of a shape adapted to give the desired curveto the counter-blank from top to bottom -that is, across thecounter-blank shown flat in Fig.8. That part of this former nearest thepart of the counter-blank, which is to form the flange of the finishedcounter, is shaped as shown, in order that the part of the counter-blankwhich is to form the flange of the finished counter may be fluted whilethe blank is passing through the machine by being pressed into thegrooves, as will be clear from the drawings.

To insure this fluting action, I use the gear B, with teeth upon it, ornear its periphery,

which mesh into the teeth upon the counterblank which is to form theflange of the finished counter the shape shown in Fig. 7, at the sametime that the body of the blank is properly curved. The function of thegear B is to crowd portions of the'flange part of the blank into thegrooves of the former, and any otherv device may be substituted whichwill perform this function.

The presser G is preferably a roll, as shown, having a speedconsiderably greater than the speed of the counter-blank, for thepurpose explained in my patent dated June 20, 1876, N 0. 178,869, butmay, of course, be stationary, or be moved by the passage of the blank,as in my Patent N 0. 127,090.

In practice the shaft cis driven by a pulley, as is also the shaft to.The two auxiliary supports D D have at their inner ends workingsurfacescorresponding to the working-surface of 0, but need not fit thecounter-former so accurately, the function of the guide bars being toinsure the better curving of the counter-blank around the axis of thecounter-former, and the function of 0 being to compel the blank toassume the lengthwise curves of the counter former. The blanks, afterbeing passed through the machine, are curved in two directions,lengthwise and across the blank, and have the part which is to form theflange of the finished counter fluted, and in this condition are readilyused in lasting the shoe, some manufacturers of shoes preferring them tothe finished counters.

If it is desired to turn the flange and give them the shape of the heelpart of the last,

Fawn.

they are molded in any suitable way, preferably as described in myPatent No. 178,869. The gear B is kept to its work by means of thespring resser-bar I), or in any other suitable way.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The improved counter-former A,grooved or fluted around its flange end, substantially as described.

2. In combination, the revolving counterformer A, presser G, andauxiliary supports D D, arranged together, as described, the parts 0 D Dbeing so formed that each will act upon only a small portion of theblank in lines crosswise of the blank and close together, in order thatonly a small portion of the blank may be acted upon at any given time.

3. In combination, the fluted counter-former A, gear B, and presser 0,all substantially as described. v

4. In combination, the fluted counter-former A, gear B, presser C, andsupports D D, all substantially as described.

JOHN R. MOFFITT.

Witnesses:

GEORGE O. G. OOALE, J. E. MAYNAJDIER.

